Traveller-digest        Monday, June 9 1997        Volume 1997 : Number 1416



(R)1996. Traveller is a registered trademark of FarFuture Enterprises.
All rights reserved.

The following topics are covered in this digest:

PE questions
Re: Initiative Thoughts
RE:Initiative Thoughts
Re: Star ship design question
Re: Star ship design question
Re: Dark Ages & Tech Advance
Re: The Long Way Home
Re: Star ship design question
Re: Initiative Thoughts
RE:Initiative Thoughts
Freelance Traveller Question
Re: Star ship design question
Hydrogen Bubbles (was Re: Star ship design question)
Re: Freelance Traveller Question

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 09:45:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Flammang <FLAMMANG@vms.cis.pitt.edu>
Subject: PE questions

   Hi.

> Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 16:38:38 -0400
> From: Peter or Kevin Miller <pmiller@linkeasy.net>

   Sorry I can't answer your first question; I don't have a copy of PE
   on me right now.  Are they trade codes? (Ni=non-industrial,
   Ic=ice-capped, etc.)

> Also, I'm a little confused as to the rules of how to take control of a
> planet to begin your pocket empire.  While learning the rules I went
> through with an Imperial Noble family going to establish a pocket empire in
> a subsector of my own creation.  However, the rules aren't clearly stated,
> or, at least, I can't find where it tells me how to take control of a
> planet.  I'd love some information on the actual establishing of the
> empire, if someone could explain it to me more clearly.

   The rules for taking over planets are in the chapter titled
   "Expanding the Empire", located towards the end of the book. The book
   has several meta-tasks detailed for inducing (by politics, religion,
   economics, or corruption) worlds to sign up with you.  Military
   take-over is another possibility, detailed exhaustively in the
   following chapter, "War".  Right now my players are using election
   rigging and religious conversion (at cross purposes) to try to "take
   over" one particular world.  My game, howver, is very role-playing
   oriented, being essentially a traditional Trav campaign gone to very
   high levels.

   -Rob

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 19:38:38 -0800
From: Richard Hough <rdhough@orca.bc.ca>
Subject: Re: Initiative Thoughts

>Initiative--
>    1 D6 + Base
>
>    Base defined as Dex + End
>
>    DMs: +  Leadership skill
>             +1 or +2 for military background--depending on type.
>             +1 for pseudo-military background

Can't say I like this. First of all, it shares the T4 task system problem
of the attributes totally dominating the entire score. Even a trained
military commander will get about 3 times as many points from attributes as
from his training. This is too much, IMHO. Also, why should one
individual's attributes determine the responses of an entire team? It
doesn't matter how fast the CO reacts if the fire team is slow off the
mark. Dex and End are already counted in combat through the hit task roll
and the Endurance pool. I also dislike the vague "military background"
rules; it's too vulnerable to abuse.

- --
Richard Hough
rdhough@orca.bc.ca

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 11:31:01 -0500
From: "Joul, Christopher" <JOUC1@Aerial1.com>
Subject: RE:Initiative Thoughts

Ken wrote:-

>Initiative--
>    1 D6 + Base
>
>    Base defined as Dex + End
>
>    DMs: +  Leadership skill
>             +1 or +2 for military background--depending on type.
>             +1 for pseudo-military background

Not to disagree with you but I think you're putting too much weight on
the characteristic (the same mistake you corrected with KB 2.0).

I have been toying with an Idea of my own which is a modification of the
base rules, of 1D6 + DM, but I calculate the DM differently:-

I use SQRT(DEX+SKILL MODS) as the DM, where Skill Mods is equal to the
sum of the characters following skills.

Highest Weapon Skill
Highest Melee Skill
Tatics
Leadership
Recon

and since the best oportunity to get these skills is in the military
they should have the higher initiative's.

If you use the unmodified DEX to calculate the DM then there is no need
to perform square roots in the middle of the play session, but this
therefore does not incorporate the effects of wounds. To do so, I
imposed a -ve DM equal to the high damage a characteristic has received
(Eg 777 reduced to 534 would result in a -4 DM).

I also think a +DM could be provided if the character is using advanced
tatical assistance and sensors (e.g. wearing battle dress), but I
haven't had chance to think about it too clearly yet. 

What do you think.

Chris.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 09:43:31 -0700
From: Scott Ellsworth <Scott_Ellsworth@alumni.hmc.edu>
Subject: Re: Star ship design question

At 12:55 AM 6/9/97 -0400, "Michael D. Peters" <Letterworks@Comten.com> wrote:
>Now maybe one of the gearhead types could explain why I can build a ship
>that needs only [125 m^3] of fuel for a YEAR to move around inside a
>system, but can't jump without more than five times as much LIQUID fuel?

The system is unclear, and the Traveller feel is regrettably dependent on
this.  See below for three asides on various elements, but here is the
answer I use for the need for so damn much fuel.

What is a jump drive?

Jump drives need a huge heap of energy, a bunch of mass to form a very
small, unstable universe with, and a hull grid that shapes the field that
turns that heap o' stuff into a bubble of our space inside jump space.  The
energy could come from accumulators without a problem, and the hull grid
might get smaller as the tech level goes up, but the need for mass stays
the same until a way is discovered to use pre-existing bubble of our space
inside jump space.

How does jump space work?

The drive makes a small universe out of the ship itself and the heaps and
heaps of LHyd that you pump out as you enter jump space.  Jump space does
not like little bubbles of our space, and so starts to convert it to the
native stuff of jumpspace.  When that happens, the ship is destroyed, so
you want to leave jumpspace before it has eaten the little universe you are
in.

Why is there no controlled jump 7?

Each level of jump is an energy level of jump space.  In my universe, they
get progressively harder to do right, as you have to very precisely figure
out the size of the pocket universe you need, then you have to build it
just right.  While imperials think there can't be a controlled jump 7, I
feel that there is, it is just never really important.  At the tech level
where you might get jump 7, you discover how to do lower jumps without the
liquid fuel by using a metastable universe.  It does not decay slowly -
instead, it is entirely stable for a while, then vanishes almost instantly.

Shortly thereafter, you discover that you can use stable pocket universes
which exist in jumpspace to move without needing a big, complicated jump
drive at all.

A bit higher on the tech scale, you can pinch off bits of real space into
stable jump space universes, with the godlike power to just create a stable
pocket universe from whole cloth coming even later still.

So, the short answer is that almost all of that LHyd is just pumped out
into jumpspace.  You can either have it go into the drive, or to the hull
grid, which is my usual choice.

Aside 1: why use a TL12 J1 drive?

TL12 drives are smaller than TL9 drives, take less power, and are less
noticeable to a sensor scan.  While they still take 10% of the volume of
the ship in fuel, I have upped the size of the JD so that it is also taking
a significant size at TL9, dropping to overly large at 12, and pretty darn
small at TL15.  I am still fretting over TL16+.

Aside 2 - Why is a jump one week?

The best analogy is: you have a cannon that always gives a certain amount
of vertical oomph.  By adjusting the angle, you are telling the canon to
add more horizontal oomph as well, so you can adjust where you come out
fairly precisely.  Unfortunately, until you figure out how to use less
Y-axis powder, every shot takes the same amount of time to fall to earth.
Now imagine that there are barriers at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 thousand feet
that each require a different kind of projectile to breach, and you have my
model of jumpspace.

If you understand it well, then you can get virtually any interval, but
jump space is difficult.  Theoretical understanding is, in my world, a
>TL18 thing.  By the time you get the ability to make a three day jump, you
have discovered the pocket universe technology, and can make an
interstellar teleporter that takes not time at all.

Understanding of how to build a jump drive and use it, though, comes as
early as TL9.

Scott
Scott_Ellsworth@alumni.hmc.edu   http://users.deltanet.com/~fuz
"When a great many people are unable to find work, unemployment 
results" - Calvin Coolidge, (Stanley Walker, City Editor, p. 131 (1934))
"The barbarian is thwarted at the moat." - Scott Adams

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 15:12:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: GAHUNTER <Gahunter@cris.com>
Subject: Re: Star ship design question

On Mon, 9 Jun 1997, Scott Ellsworth wrote:

> At 12:55 AM 6/9/97 -0400, "Michael D. Peters" <Letterworks@Comten.com> wrote:
> >Now maybe one of the gearhead types could explain why I can build a ship
> >that needs only [125 m^3] of fuel for a YEAR to move around inside a
> >system, but can't jump without more than five times as much LIQUID fuel?
> 
> The system is unclear, and the Traveller feel is regrettably dependent on
> this.  See below for three asides on various elements, but here is the
> answer I use for the need for so damn much fuel.
> 
> What is a jump drive?
> 
> Jump drives need a huge heap of energy, a bunch of mass to form a very
> small, unstable universe with, and a hull grid that shapes the field that
> turns that heap o' stuff into a bubble of our space inside jump space.  The
> energy could come from accumulators without a problem, and the hull grid
> might get smaller as the tech level goes up, but the need for mass stays
> the same until a way is discovered to use pre-existing bubble of our space
> inside jump space.

I have wanted to post this before... but, here goes... if "SO" much energy
is required why cant it be stored in some sort of accumulator and
generated slowly... This would require no excess fuel and would increase
the area available for the rest of the ship for other aspects...
 
> How does jump space work?
> 
> The drive makes a small universe out of the ship itself and the heaps and
> heaps of LHyd that you pump out as you enter jump space.  Jump space does
> not like little bubbles of our space, and so starts to convert it to the
> native stuff of jumpspace.  When that happens, the ship is destroyed, so
> you want to leave jumpspace before it has eaten the little universe you are
> in.
> 
> Why is there no controlled jump 7?
> 
> Each level of jump is an energy level of jump space.  In my universe, they
> get progressively harder to do right, as you have to very precisely figure
> out the size of the pocket universe you need, then you have to build it
> just right.  While imperials think there can't be a controlled jump 7, I
> feel that there is, it is just never really important.  At the tech level
> where you might get jump 7, you discover how to do lower jumps without the
> liquid fuel by using a metastable universe.  It does not decay slowly -
> instead, it is entirely stable for a while, then vanishes almost instantly.
> 
> Shortly thereafter, you discover that you can use stable pocket universes
> which exist in jumpspace to move without needing a big, complicated jump
> drive at all.
> 
> A bit higher on the tech scale, you can pinch off bits of real space into
> stable jump space universes, with the godlike power to just create a stable
> pocket universe from whole cloth coming even later still.
> 
> So, the short answer is that almost all of that LHyd is just pumped out
> into jumpspace.  You can either have it go into the drive, or to the hull
> grid, which is my usual choice.
> 
> Aside 1: why use a TL12 J1 drive?
> 
> TL12 drives are smaller than TL9 drives, take less power, and are less
> noticeable to a sensor scan.  While they still take 10% of the volume of
> the ship in fuel, I have upped the size of the JD so that it is also taking
> a significant size at TL9, dropping to overly large at 12, and pretty darn
> small at TL15.  I am still fretting over TL16+.
> 
> Aside 2 - Why is a jump one week?
> 
> The best analogy is: you have a cannon that always gives a certain amount
> of vertical oomph.  By adjusting the angle, you are telling the canon to
> add more horizontal oomph as well, so you can adjust where you come out
> fairly precisely.  Unfortunately, until you figure out how to use less
> Y-axis powder, every shot takes the same amount of time to fall to earth.
> Now imagine that there are barriers at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 thousand feet
> that each require a different kind of projectile to breach, and you have my
> model of jumpspace.
> 
> If you understand it well, then you can get virtually any interval, but
> jump space is difficult.  Theoretical understanding is, in my world, a
> >TL18 thing.  By the time you get the ability to make a three day jump, you
> have discovered the pocket universe technology, and can make an
> interstellar teleporter that takes not time at all.
> 
> Understanding of how to build a jump drive and use it, though, comes as
> early as TL9.
> 
> Scott
> Scott_Ellsworth@alumni.hmc.edu   http://users.deltanet.com/~fuz
> "When a great many people are unable to find work, unemployment 
> results" - Calvin Coolidge, (Stanley Walker, City Editor, p. 131 (1934))
> "The barbarian is thwarted at the moat." - Scott Adams
> 

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 12:25:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mark Clark <clarkm@OIT.EDU>
Subject: Re: Dark Ages & Tech Advance

The full citation of the book I refered to is:

	George Basalla, _The Evolution of Technology_
	Cambridge University Press, 1988
	ISBN 0-521-29681-1 (paper)

It is worth checking if the book is offered in your native language; it
has been translated into many European languages, as well as Japanese,
Korean, and others.

  Chapter 1 deals with the question of necessity as the mother of
invention and clearly shows this proposition to be false (at least it
convinced me).  The examples used are the motor car, a recent invention,
and the wheel, an ancient one, which by the way was known to several
rather advanced civilizations yet never used by them for transport.

  The book is academic, but aimed at that hypothetical "educated layman" -
anyone on this list should be able to follow it with no problem.  It is
one of my favorite history of technology books - a really first-class
theoretical work that is well written and gets your mind working in
interesting ways.

______________________________
Dr. Mark Clark
Oregon Institute of Technology

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 21:04:09 +0100
From: SD Mooney <dom@cybergoths.u-net.com>
Subject: Re: The Long Way Home

Frederick Paul Kiesche III
(FKiesche@concentric.net) wrote:

>To the authors of this fine adventure (and to the list in general): Is
>this a new innovation, or has it been cited in previous "canonical"
>sources?

I don't believe that there are any other instances of the phenomena in Deep
Space Nine, Sorry, Traveller. ;-)

However, there have been adventures in Challenge when other ships were
encountered in jump, and there certainly are adventures with portals to
other universes... What you've got is a long portal back to the same
universe. ;-)

If you've read M0, did you spot the Iain Banks "Excession" reference?

- ------Dom Mooney---dom@cybergoths.u-net.com-------
"Feel the guilt / like shackles round your feet / like a halo in reverse"
                     Depeche Mode "Violator"

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 13:17:52 -0700
From: Scott Ellsworth <Scott_Ellsworth@alumni.hmc.edu>
Subject: Re: Star ship design question

At 03:12 PM 6/9/97 -0400, GAHUNTER wrote:
>On Mon, 9 Jun 1997, Scott Ellsworth wrote:
>> At 12:55 AM 6/9/97 -0400, "Michael D. Peters" <Letterworks@Comten.com>
wrote:
>> >Now maybe one of the gearhead types could explain why I can build a ship
>> >that needs only [125 m^3] of fuel for a YEAR to move around inside a
>> >system, but can't jump without more than five times as much LIQUID fuel?
...
>> Jump drives need a huge heap of energy, a bunch of mass to form a very
>> small, unstable universe with, and a hull grid that shapes the field that
>> turns that heap o' stuff into a bubble of our space inside jump space.  The
>> energy could come from accumulators without a problem, and the hull grid
>> might get smaller as the tech level goes up, but the need for mass stays
>> the same until a way is discovered to use pre-existing bubble of our space
>> inside jump space.
>
>I have wanted to post this before... but, here goes... if "SO" much energy
>is required why cant it be stored in some sort of accumulator and
>generated slowly... This would require no excess fuel and would increase
>the area available for the rest of the ship for other aspects...

The claim is that the energy densities required are much, much larger than
can be stored in any reasonable accumulator.  DGP stated explicitly in
Starship Operators Manual that the jump drive has, as an integral
component, an very large accumulator that craps out after an hour or two,
so you do generate the energy over a reasonable time of hours.

(The size of the accumulator array can be determined from some old High
Guard rules that let you use the jump drive capacitors to store incoming
weapons fire.)

I decided that the numbers still did not work out - if you are actually
fusing 10% of the volume of your ship in anything less than years, it is
going to look like a small star for a while.  The only answer I could come
up with was that the power part of the jump for a 1400M^3 merchant might
use at most a few cubic meters of fuel for a jump 1.  The other 138 m^3 of
liquid hydrogen used is just sprayed out ports into jump space.  I have not
completely decided whether this should be a continuous process, or one that
is done within a few minutes/hours of jump.

Scott
Scott_Ellsworth@alumni.hmc.edu   http://users.deltanet.com/~fuz
"When a great many people are unable to find work, unemployment 
results" - Calvin Coolidge, (Stanley Walker, City Editor, p. 131 (1934))
"The barbarian is thwarted at the moat." - Scott Adams

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 15:47:56 +0000
From: "Kenneth Bearden" <dreamer@weck.brokersys.com>
Subject: Re: Initiative Thoughts

> Can't say I like this. First of all, it shares the T4 task system problem
> of the attributes totally dominating the entire score.

Yes, I agree.  See my other post.  I was just brainstorming out loud, 
and that was one of the ideas that I need to throw out.

 Also, why should one
> individual's attributes determine the responses of an entire team?

Oh, I roll individual initiative in my game--not for the whole group.

 I also dislike the vague "military background"
> rules; it's too vulnerable to abuse.

Just striking out all around with you, aren't I?  That's OK, though.  
That's why I put the idea out there.

It's a poor execution of a good idea.  Check out my simpler solution 
in my other post and let me know what you think.

Here's another idea that one of my players came up with that has some 
merit.  Remember, though, that we are just kicking around ideas here.

What if the initiative throw was skill dependent?  If you were 
attempting a hand to hand attack, you use your Brawling skill as a 
DM.  If you were attempting a direct fire shot, you use your weapon 
skill as a DM.

In this instance, we are not using blanket DMs for everything the 
character does.  A character who is highly skilled with a rifle can 
klick off rounds right after the other, while he may not be so good 
at punching another guy in the face.

In this way, skill not only helps the character be more accurate 
(with the to hit throw) but also improves his speed (initiative 
throw).

When just throwing around ideas, that one seems to have some merit.

Kenneth.

Kenneth.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 15:47:57 +0000
From: "Kenneth Bearden" <dreamer@weck.brokersys.com>
Subject: RE:Initiative Thoughts

> Not to disagree with you but I think you're putting too much weight on
> the characteristic (the same mistake you corrected with KB 2.0).

Actually, I am beginning to agree with you.  I posted this to my 
players as well to get their feedback, and they said the same thing.

I was just trying to integrate two Traveller rules that probably 
shouldn't be integrated.  As I said in the first post, this is not a 
finished rule--just some brainstorming out loud.

A red flag has gone up that the initiative roll is getting two 
complicated.  One of my players pointed  out that we may be doubleing 
the time it takes to do a combat round because of this.

Because of this, I have backed off the base initiative idea.  I'm 
still pondering putting in the extra DMs though.

Something like this...

Initiative roll = 1 D6 for higher dice  (official rule)

DMs  + Leadership   (official rule)
         + Tactics (if used from tactics pool--official rule)
         +1 or +2 for military background (my rule--depending on 
                        type)
	+1 pseudo-military background (my rule)

What do you think of that?

> I have been toying with an Idea of my own which is a modification of the
> base rules, of 1D6 + DM, but I calculate the DM differently:-
> 
> I use SQRT(DEX+SKILL MODS) as the DM, where Skill Mods is equal to the
> sum of the characters following skills.

> What do you think.

I think the idea is along the lines of what I've been thinking, 
except the sqrt seems awkward.  I like to keep the math simple, yet 
still make sense--like in KBv2.0 and in T4.

I would prefer a more simple solution.  I think just adding in the 
two additional DMs as I did above might be a better way to handle the 
situation in a cleaner, simpler, more T4 like way.

Kenneth.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 09 Jun 97 17:03:00 -0500
From: jeff.zeitlin@execnet.com (JEFF ZEITLIN)
Subject: Freelance Traveller Question

(subject)  Freelance Traveller Question
(from-name)  James P. Ward
(from-email)  FntsyWld@dfn.com
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We would like to know how to figure the base characteristicts for
animals/creatures for their combat
values.I.E. what is the number they need to roll to hit.
Also in the system survey what does PBG stand for?
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
  OLXWin 1.00b  Programmers do it with numbers!

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 14:12:27 -0700 (MST)
From: Bruce Johnson <johnson@Pharmacy.Arizona.EDU>
Subject: Re: Star ship design question

On Mon, 9 Jun 1997, GAHUNTER wrote:

> 
> 
> On Mon, 9 Jun 1997, Scott Ellsworth wrote:
> 
> > At 12:55 AM 6/9/97 -0400, "Michael D. Peters" <Letterworks@Comten.com> wrote:
> > >Now maybe one of the gearhead types could explain why I can build a ship
> > >that needs only [125 m^3] of fuel for a YEAR to move around inside a
> > >system, but can't jump without more than five times as much LIQUID fuel?
> > 
> > The system is unclear, and the Traveller feel is regrettably dependent on
> > this.  See below for three asides on various elements, but here is the
> > answer I use for the need for so damn much fuel.
> > 
> > What is a jump drive?
> > 
> > Jump drives need a huge heap of energy, a bunch of mass to form a very
> > small, unstable universe with, and a hull grid that shapes the field that
> > turns that heap o' stuff into a bubble of our space inside jump space.  The
> > energy could come from accumulators without a problem, and the hull grid
> > might get smaller as the tech level goes up, but the need for mass stays
> > the same until a way is discovered to use pre-existing bubble of our space
> > inside jump space.
> 
> I have wanted to post this before... but, here goes... if "SO" much energy
> is required why cant it be stored in some sort of accumulator and
> generated slowly... This would require no excess fuel and would increase
> the area available for the rest of the ship for other aspects...

Because, according to canon, this is exactly what happens, but the
accumulators (zuchai crystal capacitor banks) do not hold energy stably
for very long. At high TL's you can get by with charging the jumpdrive
using other energy means, but you STILL need the Hydrogen to form the
'Jump Bubble' around your ship. To get away with that requires even higher
TL's (Grandfather level, here, folks)

The amount of 'jump fuel' required to generate the energy is only a tiny
fraction of what is expended, so you're not going to gain much free space 
in your hull.

Mostly this is canon's fault for never really specifying how jump drives
work, other than saying that they use 10% of the ships volume/jump in LHyd
'fuel'; all the rest of the handwaving has been to justify that number.

Bruce Johnson
University of Arizona
College of Pharmacy
Information Technology Group

Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 14:47:11 -0700
From: Glenn Hoppe <starcity@sk.sympatico.ca>
Subject: Hydrogen Bubbles (was Re: Star ship design question)

Scott Ellsworth wrote:
> 
> At 12:55 AM 6/9/97 -0400, "Michael D. Peters" <Letterworks@Comten.com> wrote:
> >Now maybe one of the gearhead types could explain why I can build a ship
> >that needs only [125 m^3] of fuel for a YEAR to move around inside a
> >system, but can't jump without more than five times as much LIQUID fuel?
> 
> The system is unclear, and the Traveller feel is regrettably dependent on
> this.  See below for three asides on various elements, but here is the
> answer I use for the need for so damn much fuel.
> 
> What is a jump drive?
> 
> Jump drives need a huge heap of energy, a bunch of mass to form a very
> small, unstable universe with, and a hull grid that shapes the field that
> turns that heap o' stuff into a bubble of our space inside jump space.  The
> energy could come from accumulators without a problem, and the hull grid
> might get smaller as the tech level goes up, but the need for mass stays
> the same until a way is discovered to use pre-existing bubble of our space
> inside jump space.

You've got a really nifty explaination for why ships require so much
liquid hydrogen as "Jump Fuel". I like it! I do have some minor quibbles
with your explanation, though, and I'd like to posit a slightly revised
version of your excellent theory.

Quibble #1: What is it about our space that jumpspace doesn't like?
Ship's make a jump in outer space which is nearly vacuum, why should
jumpspace react violently with it?

Quibble #2: Why does the volume of hydrogen increase for higher
jumpspace levels? 10% of hull volume for jump-1, 20% for jump-2, etc.

This minor quibbles can be solved (I think :-) by a slight change in the
focus of your explanation.

The lanthanum grid creates an exotic particle field (Jumpspace Bubble
Boundry or JBB) which allows a starship and all else within the bubble
to enter jumpspace. At the same time, hydrogen is pumped out at
strategic intervals around the ship to "inflate" the bubble.

Each jumpspace level has a certain particle density which creates
pressure in much the same manner as an atmosphere does. A jumpspace
bubble therefore requires some kind of gas to "inflate" it to the point
where the outside pressure on the bubble is equivalent to the inside
pressure of the hydrogen gas.

If you were to form a jumpspace bubble without inflating it with
hydrogen, when you enter jumpspace the pressure of jumpspace would
instantly collapse upon the ship (since the pressure inside the bubble
is negligible), react with the heavier elements comprising the ship, and
boom.

Too much hydrogen pressure on the inside, and you increase the volume of
the jumpspace bubble, therefore lowering the density of exotic particles
in the JBB to the point where the ship misjumps.

Why Hydrogen?

Heavier elements react violently with jumpspace. Hydrogen, and some
isotopes of Helium (just throwing that in for fun...) seem to be
relatively inert. This is why it is imperative that the hydrogen be free
from impurities. Small impurities in the bubble may cause jumpspace
incursion and misjumps.

This is another very good reason to *not* jump within an atmosphere, of
a mainworld or a gas giant.

Why no Jump-7?

Increasing levels of jumpspace have increasing jumpspace pressures.
Entering Jump-1 requires 10% of the ship's volume of hydrogen to create
a stable bubble.  Jump-6 requires 60% of the ship's volume of hydrogen
to create a stable bubble. At Jump-7, the volume of hydrogen required
increases dramatically, and is actually greater than that of the ship!

So far, top secret naval experiments with drop tanks, pre-created
hydrogen "atmospheres" and other methods of externally "inflating" the
bubble have proved disasterous. The exact volume required is not yet
known, and it has been suspected that the Jumpspace Bubble Boundry would
become unstable before the required hydrogen pressure was reached.

One crazy and ultra-top secret experiment involved a modified Xboat with
an experimental J-7 drive which attempted to jump within the cargo bay
of an Xboat Tender filled with hydrogen under high pressure...

> How does jump space work?
> 
> The drive makes a small universe out of the ship itself and the heaps and
> heaps of LHyd that you pump out as you enter jump space.  Jump space does
> not like little bubbles of our space, and so starts to convert it to the
> native stuff of jumpspace.  When that happens, the ship is destroyed, so
> you want to leave jumpspace before it has eaten the little universe you are
> in.

Although the idea of jumpspace slowly intruding upon the jumpspace
bubble, chewing through it like some flesh-eating disease, has some
appeal, it's perhaps a bit too melodramatic, imho.

You also have to deal with loss of mass in our universe, and whatever
nastyness that may entail.

That's why I prefer of thinking of the hydrogen bubble as an
"equilibrium" situation.

> So, the short answer is that almost all of that LHyd is just pumped out
> into jumpspace.  You can either have it go into the drive, or to the hull
> grid, which is my usual choice.

As I said, the loss of the LHyd to jumpspace opens a can of worms that
unsettles me. Why not have the ship jump in-system with the hydrogen
bubble still intact? This would cause some neat role-playing
opportunities.

"Sir, picking up increased hydrogen density at 45 mark 30, 12 light-sex
distance..."

"That might be the Azhanti, she might have just arrived. Red Alert! I
want a detailed analysis of the shape of that cloud before it disperses!
We may be able to determine the heading of the Azhanti by following her
wake... she's probably still dragging hydrogen..."

By the way, any physics buffs care to speculate how long a hydrogen
shell would hang around after returning to normal space? I imagine it
would depend on whether any G's were expended for maneuver or evasion.
Otherwise, the shell would likely have the same vector as the ship.

Of course, then there's the effects of the solar wind, planetary
magnetospheres...

How much time would a ship have to detect a hydrogen cloud?
How hard would it be for sensors to detect it?
Would a ship jumping in-system light up momentarily, like a comet?
Could one follow the "tail"?

- -- 
====== Glenn Hoppe =====\ /---- MailTo:jumpspace@geocities.com ----
\ . . Enter Jumpspace --X->  http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8275  \
 -----------------------/ \=========== Eschew Obfuscation ===========
Technology is an extension of our hands and our feet, not our spirit.
                                    -- Filmmaker Costa-Gavras, 9/6/95

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 15:05:03 -0700 (MST)
From: Bruce Johnson <johnson@Pharmacy.Arizona.EDU>
Subject: Re: Freelance Traveller Question

On Mon, 9 Jun 1997, JEFF ZEITLIN wrote:

> 
> (subject)  Freelance Traveller Question
> (from-name)  James P. Ward
> (from-email)  FntsyWld@dfn.com

> Also in the system survey what does PBG stand for?

(P)opulation multiplier (P x 10^(population UWP digit)= real population)
(B)elts (of Asteroids), number of
(G)as Giants, number of 

Bruce Johnson
University of Arizona
College of Pharmacy
Information Technology Group

Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs

------------------------------

End of Traveller-digest V1997 #1416
***********************************
